The Sun's End
by XLucy0117X
Summary: The Akatsuki get frustrated with femNaru's involvement in the loss of their members and decide to come after her sooner than anyone thought they would. Kidnapped by Itachi and Deidara, Naru has to either confront her fate or somehow find a way to escape. Will she give in to her fate or will she fight? She does hate fate, but can she escape? ItafemNaru/DeifemNaru/Some KakafemNaru
1. I'm Not Reaching Down There, Un!

_**This is not a oneshot. More chapters are to come.**_

_** Summary: Immediately leaping into a bush to her side, she tucked her knees inwards and somersaulted over the forest ground, the grass, leaves and tree branches stabbing and attacking her. She knew her attempts were in vain; she had two S – ranked criminals after her. She wouldn't escape them, but at least she could say she tried. ItafemNaru/DeifemNaru/(Very little)KakafemNaru**_

_** Rating: T**_

_** Words: 4,065**_

"Naruko! Get down!" Kakashi threw an arm around Naruko's shoulders and forced her down with him just as a couple shuriken slashed at the place on the tree where her head used to be. Glancing up with his Sharingan spinning in place madly, Kakashi lowered his grip to one of the girl's wrists. "We have to get you out of here." He pulled her towards him as he sprinted across the battlefield. As he did so, his other hand covered his Sharingan and he unclenched his normal eye.

Naru's frantic eyes darted about the clearing where her friends were fighting for her. They had gotten wind that some members from Akatsuki were in the Black Hills. The Godaime Hokage took immediate action, calling a big squad of ANBU and a couple of Jounin and Chunin friends of Naruko's to transport the girl elsewhere. They had attempted to get her as far as Suna, hoping that the Akatsuki wouldn't look there, but they had been ambushed a couple hours away from Konohagakure no Sato. Gaara had suggested they bring Naruko to him, claiming he would protect her with his life. The Elders, as wonderful and clever as they are, agreed quickly, most likely just glad to get rid of the Kyuubi – brat.

Naruko's orange and black ruffled skirt got caught in the wind, blowing behind her as she ran. The skirt itself only went half way down to her knees, but long fishnet stockings covered the rest of her legs to her calf. Her black fishnet shirt's sleeves ended up at her fingers, and connected between each of the five to form partial fingerless fishnet gloves. The jacket covering said fishnet shirt was large and bulky, reaching to the top of her belly button and just above her elbows. It was buttoned shut by one middle button, and the others remained open. To top it off, her long, gorgeous blonde hair was in orange pigtails. Naruko paid no attention to herself, though, and felt her chest restrict at the sight of Sakura getting cut in the arm, hence a large scream.

Finally gaining her wits, Naruko yanked her arm from her sensei's grip with a glare. "I can't run away, sensei. They're fighting for _me_, and I can't just run away while they get hurt!" Naruko pointed to the fights with a furious glower.

"The Akatsuki are after you, Naruko. If they get you, then the whole universe is in trouble. It's your safety for the world, or it's their lives. They're important to me, too, Naru, but it's a needed sacrifice." Kakashi reached for her arm again, but this time Naruko pulled back.

"How could you say that?" Naruko demanded angrily. "They're our friends, we have to help them. What about teamwork, sensei? 'Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum', isn't that right, sensei?" She snarled and Kakashi looked confused for a second.

Shaking his head sadly, he said, "That was before the capture of one person meant the destruction of everyone and everything!"

"I'm not going! I'm going to protec–ah!" Kakashi had reached up and smacked her behind the neck in a karate chop. He caught her unconscious body before it fell as her eyes slipped close immediately and her limbs became limp. Clutching her backside tightly with his left hand and his right holding under her knees, he began his retreat into the wilderness. He contemplated on switching her position onto his back in a piggy–back, but figured it'd be too much of a hassle. They had to get out of there now.

_I'm sorry, Naru. I just never want to see you hurt again. Finding your body cold and nearly lifeless was hard enough for me once. And don't you understand that you're wanted by the most dangerous organization out there? There's going to be sacrifices. But yours cannot be one we have to face. Also…your father would kill me in the afterlife if I fail to protect you._

Cut out of his thoughts by the sound of a kunai being thrown at him, Kakashi jumped to the side swiftly as the kunai hit the tree beside him. Studying it for a second, Kakashi's one normal eye widened marginally as it caught sight of the exploding tag hanging from it. He leaped suddenly, a loud explosion following after him.

As he landed on another tree limb, he turned to where the kunai had been thrown from. "Come out." He ordered tightly, shifting the girl's weight in his arms.

"Give us the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, Kakashi Hatake." An emotionless, dark voice responded, but no body appeared to take claim to the voice. Even so, Kakashi knew that tone easily.

"Itachi Uchiha, weren't you supposed to be fighting with the other members?" He asked stiffly before grabbing hold of Naruko and gently pushing her over his shoulder. He refused to let go of her, but he needed to be able to fight. Kakashi looked down to his feet, remembering not to make eye contact with the man.

"Hn." Kakashi slowly let his eye roam upwards until he caught sight of the man's feet on a branch above him. He appeared to be a couple hundred feet away, and Kakashi forced himself not to react. He couldn't let Itachi see his worry. Reaching up and pushing his hitaite out of the way of his Sharingan eye, he closed his other eye before getting into a defensive position.

_Don't look at him in the eye. Don't look at him in the eye._ Kakashi repeated the mantra over and over in his head.

The weight on his shoulder was becoming heavier and heavier by the second and Kakashi once again cursed himself for being so reckless. He looked up to see last hand seals. Boar, Horse, and Tiger. _Uh oh._

"_Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu_!" A large fireball spewed from Itachi's lips, aimed for Kakashi and Naruko. Placing a restricting hand on Naruko's backside before leaping from the branch under him, he made the mistake of losing track of the missing nin. His eyes whipped about frantically, looking from side to side, to up and down, and then behind him. His eye was instantaneously caught in the younger man's red Mangekyo Sharingan eyes and he knew it was over.

Kakashi's arms shook, and his body ached to turn tail with the girl in his arms and run. Begrudgingly he gently pulled the Jinchuuriki from his shoulder and pushed her towards the missing nin. _No! Kakashi, stop! Don't do it!_ His mind reprimanded him, but his body moved without his consent, handing over one of the remaining people needed for taking over the world.

The missing nin, Itachi, reached his arms out for the girl and held her close to him, one arm wrapped around her torso before knocking the legendary Copy Cat nin out. He dropped suddenly, but managed to stay upon the branch. Itachi slipped to a knee with the girl still half in his arms and pulled out some chakra cuffs.

Of course the Akatsuki knew they wouldn't last long; with the Jinchuuriki enormous chakra amounts the girl could literally blast them off if she really wanted to. That was why Itachi was assigned to capture the Jinchuuriki while the others distracted her guards. With the flick of a finger, Itachi could send her into a Genjutsu or put a sleeping jutsu on her. Deidara was assigned to join him later, much to the blonde's disappointment.

After forcing the metal cuffs on her, Itachi pulled her into his arms and jumped to a tree not too far away and set her down. Looking around, he waited for his partner to show up. Minutes passed and Itachi was growing somewhat impatient, but kept the deadpan look upon his face.

"Let's get going, un!" A sudden voice to Itachi's left cried out. Itachi knew who it was immediately but still favored to look at the blonde haired bomber. His Akatsuki cloak was wrinkled and partly torn and he seemed to prefer his right leg. He stood upon his large, white clay bird beside the tree Itachi and the Jinchuuriki resided on. His pony tail wagged in the wind, making Itachi wonder when Deidara cuts his hair. They'd been too busy to do anything but their missions. After all, losing one member was hard on the group.

Tobi had joined them just as soon as Sasori died but they still hadn't been proven the gap had been equally filled. Tobi has a large gap to fill, after all Sasori was one of the best in the group. Rumor was that his grandmother and one of Naru's teammates had the honor of disposing of the puppet master. No one knew, though, since Deidara had flown off with Gaara's body and no one else was present.

"Who's gonna carry her?" The blonde asked, his tone telling the Uchiha it was an afterthought.

The glare and Killing Intent Itachi sent Deidara was enough to thoroughly send chills down the bomber's back. He glanced down at the Jinchuuriki within Itachi's arms and was surprised she hadn't woken at that massive amount of KI. His pride was hurt; he couldn't defy Itachi even if he wanted to. Obviously Itachi was stronger than him. After all he defeated him easily once before, and was one of the strongest in their group. Technically speaking, he was his sempai, but that didn't stop Deidara from hating him.

"Fine, un, I'll put her on the bird." Itachi held the girl up enough for Deidara to grasp the girl in his arms and put her face down on his bird. He leaped off to stand beside Itachi before jumping once again to the ground under the tree branches. From there on, they'd travel by foot. They needn't worry about anyone catching up to them. At least not for a while.

Itachi soon followed, the large white bird in tow.

~~~~~:D~~~~~

Naruko's eyes fluttered open reluctantly when she felt the sun stabbing at her back. She had wondered why she was laying on top of something, and better yet, why her arms were cuffed behind her back. Trying not to move, she tried to catch sight of one of her captors. She hoped that Kakashi had just gone crazy and decided to tie her up for good measure. But, looking at the black and red Akatsuki cloak, she knew exactly who had cuffed her. And unfortunately, she knew where she was going.

_Maybe I can escape? Yeah right. The cuffs are most likely Chakra Cuffs. They won't let me use any and if I attempt to break them with my chakra, Akatsuki will know where I am and that I'm awake. My best choice is to try to hop off this weird clay bird quietly and take a run for it._ Naruko knew that was a long – shot. These guys weren't S – ranked criminals for nothing. And when they find out she tried to escape, they'll probably knock her out. _Well, it's run or die. And I'd rather live._

With that, she slowly started to slide down the white bird, thanking whoever was listening that it was only a couple feet off the ground. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she made sure to glance as the two missing nin and see if they had heard her. Apparently they had not, and she knew who her captors were.

Itachi Uchiha, missing nin of Konohagakure no Sato, stood three yards from her. She glared at his back angrily. He was the reason her best friend left her with a hole in her chest. Managing to take her eyes off the black haired man, she turned to the blonde. She wasn't surprised to see _him. _He was the jerk that helped capture Gaara and then sat on his dead body. Why wasn't he dead? Didn't she kill him?

Trembling with the anger that immediately filled her, she had to purse her lips together to hold back the enraged growl. She turned away from the two quietly and immediately sprinted. Sure, they'd hear her. But, if she had walked slowly, they could glance back and catch her immediately before she could even attempt to run. Thankfully they were in the middle of a forest – like area and she could hide in tree and bushes.

"She's escaping, un!"

Naru didn't attempt to look back, only sprinting forwards, her eyes trained on the ground. She didn't know the extent of the Sharingan, could it knock her out? All she knew was that Sharingan users are masters at Genjutsu, her weakest skill. Going up against the ultimate master, Itachi Uchiha, would be the last of her. She knew that.

Immediately leaping into a bush to her side, she tucked and somersaulted over the forest ground, the grass, leaves and tree branches stabbing and attacking her. She knew her attempts were in vain; she had two S – ranked criminals after her.

She lay on the underbrush ground, her face planted into the dirt and grass below her. Naru put her forehead to the ground and attempted to push herself upwards, her knees braced together and her arms still behind her back. Holding back the moan from between clenched teeth, she didn't even realize she had attempted to use chakra. That was, until the shocking started and her body writhed from the pain. She fell to the ground again and a groan escaped her parted lips. Next came the gasps and screams.

The two criminals found her there, panting with the effort not to scream. Itachi's emotionless eyes stirred; and his lips pulled into a tight line. He reached down and pulled the blonde girl into his arms bridal style before turning to Deidara who had watched the scene with amused eyes.

"Feeling pity for the captive? She was your brother's best friend before he left." He pointed out with a shrug but his eyes sparkled with interest. "Perhaps you're not the evil bastard everyone has you labeled as." The taunting grin that had curved upwards on the blonde's lips infuriated the Uchiha.

One glare was enough to shut the younger boy up. They both turned to the girl, contemplating on what they should do with her now. Should they attempt to knock her out again? It had only lasted an hour at most. Would they have to knock her out every hour or should they devise another plan to incapacitate her for longer periods of time?

"Rip off a piece of your cloak, Deidara," Itachi ordered, his voice still as emotionless and dead as it had been mere hours ago.

"No way, un! Use your own!"

"Hn." Irritated, Itachi ignored the bomber while he dropped to a knee and pulled out a kunai to cut a long strand of his cloak, his arms still around Naru's body. He handed the strand over to Deidara who looked at it curiously. Giving it a questioning look, Deidara opened his mouth to ask what he was supposed to do with it.

"Wrap it around her mouth when I tell you to." Itachi again demanded, shoving the cloth closer to the blonde bomber who then shrugged.

"Fine, un." His fingers wrapped around the piece of the black and red cloak before swiveling over towards the now quiet and thoughtful girl. He kneeled before her, his one bluish – grey eye catching her azure ones. Looking into her eyes his one, he saw the fear and pain dancing just below the surface. Trying to hold back his sudden hesitance to shut up the girl with the Akatsuki cloak, he held the cloth on the two ends with his hands. He brought it up in front of her mouth and readied to put it on.

Naru, instantly more aware than when she was fighting back the urge to scream, realized what was happening and began to squirm in Itachi's arms. She pursed her lips together defiantly before turning her head away and into Itachi's chest. Said man stiffened slightly, his arms tightened around her once before he used the arm that once held her legs to grip her chin between his thumb and forefinger. Flexing his wrist and fingers to push her face towards Deidara, he squeezed harder in an effort to make her open her mouth.

"Mmmm…" She complained against the grip.

"Come on," Deidara encouraged angrily. "Open up!"

Tears welled up in Naru's eyes as she bit her bottom lip with sharp canines, blood soon flowed from the cuts on her lips, but whether the tears were from that or the situation she was in, neither Akatsuki member knew.

Minutes passed as they waited for the girl to give up, but if anything she seemed to gain more perseverance as they waited. Her blue eyes were fierce with anger, and her teeth clenched the lip tighter making the blood streak down her chin with renewed force.

Finally Deidara lost his patience. "If you let us cover your mouth, we'll feed you dinner tonight _and _we'll heal that lip. Do we have a deal, un?"

Itachi glared at the older blonde, but before he could contemplate on the deal he was trying to make with the younger, he was surprised by the little movement Naru made; a nod. The nod was slow and hesitant, but the tears stopped their advance down her cheeks.

The two criminals sighed in relief despite now having to feed and heal her. Sure they were criminals, but it would be a stupid idea to break a promise with the Jinchuuriki. She would be sure to make their trip as hard as possible with or without them breaking promises to her. The question would be how much easier would the journey be if she was even the slightest compliant?

Again she gradually opened her mouth as Deidara leaned in to shove the cloth inside her open mouth. They managed to tie it around her mouth without any problems and soon they were again walking down the path to the hideout.

Naru walked between the two silent missing nins, her eyes unfocused and head throbbing. What happened before she was taken by the missing nins? Did Itachi and Deidara kill Kakashi – sensei? Is he harmed? At that thought, it felt like a hand clenched around her chest and she felt a gasp escape her. The gasp was caught in the tie around her mouth so she expected the two hadn't heard her. As wrong as she was, the two ignored her. She had plenty of time to think to herself and they were sure some unpleasant thoughts would course through her head eventually.

_Gaara, Gaara went through this. Dammit! Why didn't I ask him if it hurts? Does it hurt to have your demon sucked out of you? Please don't let it – it hurts enough knowing I won't be able to save Sasuke. I'm sorry Sakura. I can't fulfill my promise to you. I'm so sorry…_

She was pulled out of her thoughts a good few hours later when Deidara gripped her elbow with a sturdy and _mouthed_ hand. She shuddered at that thought. She knew about Deidara since she had not only fought him but Gaara provided as much detail about his captors as he could after he had returned to his duty as Kazekage.

"We're stopping here. I'll feed you supper, but it's going to have to be ration bars and you better be quiet, un. We can't have people knowing we're here." He half dragged her over to a large tree trunk, ignoring her piercing glare. He pulled on the elbow, gesturing for her to sit down with her back to the trunk. She reluctantly complied, but soon regretted it when Deidara called out to Itachi.

"Throw over the rope, un!" Naru immediately tried to stand, pushing her back hard against the tree and quickly trying to jerk herself upwards into standing. No way was she going to be tied to a tree. Her pride was hurt enough when they tied that cloth around her mouth. Eyes wide and frantic, Naru jerked in surprise when she felt a stitched up palm gripping her upper arm tightly.

She was pulled down despite her attempt to fight off the hand. Itachi walked over slowly, large rope in hand. Where that rope had been the entire time was a mystery to Naru, but she was sure she didn't want to know. For all she knew, it could have been in a pocket. But not knowing would be better…That way she could come up with ridiculous places; it'd be funnier.

"Stay still or you won't get your supper." Itachi warned, his voice even and uncaring.

That shut Naru up quickly.

When the rope was tied tightly, her arms still behind her back and the rope holding her middle to the tree, she glared expectantly at her raven haired captor. He merely turned to catch that gaze, a Sharingan slowly spinning in its depths. Naru shut her eyes quickly, remembering almost a second too late what he could do. Instead of opening her eyes again and pleading for food with them, she decided to use her mouth this time.

"Mmmmm…mmmmm…" She opened her closed eyes cautiously, but let out a sigh of relief when she found the raven nowhere near her.

"Shut up! I'm coming, dammit!" The bomber growled, his long blonde bangs whipping slightly to the right enough for Naru to see the scope. He made his way over to her, but stopped suddenly. "Why am I the one going to feed her, un? You do it, Uchiha!"

He was answered with a nonchalant 'hn' so Naru assumed that was Uchiha talk for 'no'. She could have been wrong; the Uchiha's have an extensive meaning for the grunt. She learned that quickly from Sasuke.

Deidara gave a frustrated sigh before crouching down in front of the Jinchuuriki and removing the cloth from her mouth. She gave a large intake of breath before letting it all out, her eyes never straying from the bomber's one blue eye. He rolled his eye once before holding the bar up to her lips. Taking a bite of it, she was surprised that it tasted so good. Perhaps she was just so hungry from not eating all day.

Mouth still stuffed, she gave a small, reluctant grin. "Arigato!" Food spilled from her mouth and Deidara turned red – faced.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" He chastised loudly.

"Sorry," She grumbled, this time making sure she had gulped it all down before speaking. Her eyes straying downwards slightly for the littlest second, the look was nearly forgotten as she leaned forward. "More!" Naru eagerly begged, her mouth opening once again.

A small blush grew over Deidara's face, and he averted his eyes to the side for a moment. Eventually he complied with her wish and pushed the bar up to her mouth but at the last moment it fell through the cracks of her fishnet and down the wrappings that held her bust in place. How it managed to fall through just the right cracks was beyond the blonde, but she was annoyed.

"What? No! I was gonna eat that!" She growled angrily, glaring at the place the food had vanished.

"I'm not grabbing that, un!" Deidara stood, turning away from her in attempt to hide the growing blush. Why was he acting like this? That stupid Jinchuuriki was making him feel things he hadn't ever felt before. How could she do that? In his head, Naru was just some stupid Jinchuuriki that he needed to bring to his leader in an attempt to take over the world. So why did…?

"I can't deal with this, un. You do it, Uchiha." Without listening for the other's usual grunt, Deidara decided to take a walk in the forest like area that they had decided to make camp at.

Unlike usual when ninjas stopped, it wasn't dark out yet. The sun was just slowly drifting lower and lower unto the horizon, the colors splayed out behind it looking entrancing. A mix of purple, orange, red and yellow beautifully painting the light sky up above the three travelers. Deidara didn't travel far, his eyes still watching as the sun descended and the darkness that came with it.

-A/N—

This was originally gonna be a one-shot, but I decided I wanted to put it into two different parts. It might be better that way. It may not. Anyways, I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT FINISHING MY STORIES AND CONTINUING TO MAKE MORE AND MORE ONESHOTS! I just can't stand it. I find a new couple I like and when I finish all the good stories about them, I can't take it. I just have to write one. *Sigh*

I hope you guys liked it. I'm sorry for any and all mistakes. I also apologize for any OOC. I tried to keep it in character. Feedback, please? I'll welcome criticism with warm arms, but flames are not accepted. If you can't write anything better than 'this sux' or 'its awful', than it's a waste of my time. Thanks for all the support guys!


	2. Cuddling With Itachi-His Kind Side

_**TheBlackSeaReaper:**__Thank you. I'm sorry the update is so late…_

_**Valkiria Thrud: **__I appreciate your insight.__There wasn't huge romance in this piece, so I apologize for that…but this is how it came out and I really don't have the urge to change it. It came out the way it wanted to; I couldn't have changed it if I really wanted to…_

_**Princess Akasha: **__Thank you! :D_

_**Gruffard: **__Thanks._

_**Wolflover1996: **__Thanks. The break went longer than I had originally thought, but in the end this last chapter managed to come out so I'm just thankful for that. Thanks for sticking with the story!_

_**KiyomiShizuru: **__Thank you! I appreciate your concern and I'd like to thank you for sticking with the story until now. :)_

_**Selfless-Ki: **__Thanks!_

_Onto the story:_

Naru shivered tenderly as a trickle of rain danced its way down her forearm. A spark of fear hit her, but as she glanced at the dark night sky, it slowly faded. _'It's only rain,'_ she chastised herself sternly.

Her eyes moved over towards Itachi who still sat a good ways away. His dark, black eyes intently studied the grassy plain across from him. His back was pressed firmly against the turn of a large tree. But, almost as if he knew she had been staring at him, his eyes now moved over to lock onto hers. Startled, Naru quickly averted her azure eyes.

Fear flickered as clear as day across her now ghastly pale face as a rumble nearly shook her and the tree she was still tied to. The squeak that slipped through her lips was quiet, but it still managed to make its way over towards her captor. His empty black eyes watched her curiously, the only sign of life Naru had ever seen cross the older Uchiha's face.

Her tied arms trembled beneath the rope's tight embrace and teeth gnashed together furiously. Even as another loud boom filled the otherwise silent night's open space, her teeth parted enough for another yelp to emerge.

She squeezed her eyes tightly together, teeth chattering, praying desperately that Itachi hadn't heard her. Her ears caught the sound of someone standing up, the rusting of cloth and something being dragged on the ground. Despite the fact that that didn't sound all too good, Naru refused to open her eyes. Even as another tremble overtook the ground, the noise rocking her itself, and a flash seen from behind her eyelids, she didn't dare move. But, as a wispy cloth crept around her shoulders and an arm pulled her head onto a masculine yet warm arm, her eyes finally opened.

Imagine her surprise as Itachi was leaning on the tree beside her; his arm no longer over her shoulders but instead her head leaning onto him.

"B–b–but–" A silent flash of lightning fell through the sky before her eyes, stopping her sentence immediately.

"You'll give out our position otherwise. Just keep quiet and don't pay attention to the storm."

Naru opened her mouth to disagree; it would be good for her to give out their position if only it was given out to the _right_ people. _Plus, it's easier said than done to just ignore the lightning and thunder..._ As more flashes and trembles filled the brisk air, Naru let out a little shudder before continuing what she had been thinking about. _Why is it so bad tonight? How can it shake the whole ground and make such piercing noises?_ She let out an annoyed huff of anger.

She thought back to Kakashi and her friends back in Konoha. Perhaps they hadn't even made it. Maybe they died…maybe they took out more of the Akatsuki? She felt her heart tear in half as Sai, Yamato, Kakashi, Tsunade and Rookie Nine formed in her mind's eye. They waved to her almost energetically, though a small half smile curled almost sympathetically was stretched across Yamato and Neji's faces. Kiba was laughing boisterously, Akamaru leaning onto his master's back, paws over his shoulders. Hinata blushed feverishly, hands intertwining in her usual way as her eyes stayed fixed to a certain point on the ground. Ino and Sakura waved before they turned on each other and began to argue, and Naru could swear little tick marks were growing on their foreheads. Fingers were pointed at each other accusingly. Shikamaru gave a shrug, and by the way his lips moved it was clear he had just said 'troublesome'. He stepped between the two fighting kunoichis, pinkie in his ear and turning idly in a lazy attempt to clean his ear. Not too far away Choji chomped on his chips, a hand rose eagerly in a half wave before fumbling back into the bag. Shino stood to the side, looking almost as if he was brooding, but you wouldn't know from the large black sunglasses sitting carefully on his face. Rock Lee and Tenten stood beside Neji, Lee's arm around his shoulders much to Neji's apparent dismay and Tenten's arms crossed angrily as she scolded the green dressed teammate. Jiraiya stood a ways away, grinning madly while taking notes in a little note book.

She imagined a blonde haired father standing beside Kakashi, hands reached out into a silent gesture for a hug. His face was hidden by his long blonde hair, but Naru could've sworn she'd had seen his face before. She didn't know where her mother was in this picture, but she didn't inquire too closely. The dead weren't there, in her mind's eye, but that was a good thing. That meant that she didn't believe that her friends were dead alongside those who had died.

Snuggling a little closer to Itachi's warmth, Naru didn't even realize it when she fell asleep.

~NaruUzumaki~

She awoke to the sound of yelling and her pillow being pulled from beneath her. She let out a groan of disapproval. "Hey!" Her eyes slipped open slowly, the sun's first morning rays nearly blinding her at first glance.

"What do you think you were doing, un?" Deidara snapped, his voice louder than usual. If she squinted her eyes enough against the light, she could see Itachi standing with his back to Deidara who was attempting to lecture his backside. Itachi's mini ponytail whipped to the right as the wind picked up; all at once things seemed to happen. Itachi stiffened, making him look even more emotionless if possible. As that happened, Deidara let out a hissed swear and hurried over towards their captive.

His hands reached down and began to pull at the ropes, one hand reaching into his weapon pack underneath his red and black cloak, the other pulling the ropes outward. The one hand came out of his cloak with a sharp kunai and aimed it at the rope.

"We must hurry," Itachi muttered, black, impassive eyes looking to the West intently. It looked almost as if he was watching something far away, but Naru doubted that highly.

"What's going on?" She asked, her voice higher due to the confusion laced within it.

They ignored her, much to her chagrin.

Deidara slipped the knife through the rope easily, freeing Naru from her bounds that had held her to the tree. Her hands were still tied together, but she couldn't help the sense she was closer to freedom when those ropes fell off of her arms.

His tongued – _ew! _Naru mentally shuddered – hand gripped her arm with a tight grip and edged her forward with a slight shove. She resisted momentarily before she caught onto what was happening. She noticed a sudden chill in the air and a familiar chakra; Sasuke's. The intense feeling in the air, the crackling of the chilly wind beating against the large trees beside them, it brought a sense of foreboding to her. Even as adrenaline surged through her body, she was calm. She was excited, but she was relaxed. Sasuke was here…

Deidara gave her another shove, but Naru refused to give. "Let's go, un!" Deidara snapped, whether it was meant for Naru or Itachi was unclear since both weren't moving. Itachi watched seemingly nothing in the distance, his eyes tracing over the edges of the trees, probably trying to catch a glance at their pursuer. "Snap out of it!" Deidara whined angrily.

Immediately Itachi turned and leapt toward the tree above them, the one that Naru had been tied to. Deidara threw her over his shoulder and hurried after Itachi.

"Let me go! Sasuke!" She barely remembered the attempts after her life by her best friend, and she barely remembered the hate displayed both times. All that mattered was that Sasuke was about to get Itachi…maybe the village would accept him back if he killed the traitor of the Uchiha clan?

The two Akatsuki leapt from tree limb to another, not even stopping for a second. It was clear Itachi wasn't doing so well, but he continued with his consistent pace. Deidara's hold on Naru, who was slung like a big bag of powder of his shoulder, tightened with each leap. Her head was in the direction from which they were running from. The direction Sasuke was coming from.

Time passed, _hours,_ Naru supposed, but that didn't stop the two Akatsuki from their unrelenting retreat.

"Damn!" Deidara snarled from under her. Blinking with a shake of her head, Naru reached out with her senses to lock onto what had Deidara so mad. Sasuke was still far away so why…?

"Wanna play?" A snarky, cocky voice broke her concentration. Deidara didn't even falter as he dropped down onto the grassy plain. Hefting Naru off of his shoulder and letting her fall to her butt beside him, Deidara then pulled out some clay from his back pouch.

"Yes, lets, un."

Itachi appeared next to Naru but he didn't dare try to pick her up. They both knew that this distraction, this teen before them, would waste enough time for Sasuke to catch up.

The handsome teen, looking to be around seventeen, slung his sword over his shoulder in a mocking way. Letting her eyes drift up higher, the Jinchuuriki noticed his hair was silver and hung limply down to his shoulder's tips. His captivating purple eyes silently tantalized her. Everything about him, his sharp canines, his uncaring demeanor and his stance was enough for Naru not question his abilities. She just hoped that his opponent, Deidara, didn't either. She looked closer at the sword only to be shocked. It was Zabuza's! _How did he get that? _She wondered to herself.

The fight started not soon after, the silver haired teenager swinging the large blade magnificently. Little by little more people appeared from different sides of the clearing to engage Deidara in battle as well.

The first to engage the battle with the two was a red haired female, her light purple top parting just at her belly button and shorts a dark black.

The second was a large, masculine teenager with orange spiky hair. He wore what looked to be a medical garb, or baggy t-shirt and shorts, and no shoes.

Itachi himself had pulled at Naru's forearm and yanked her towards the edge of the clearing before the two had entered the battle with their comrades and over toward where they had originally been headed. That was the farthest he got against Naru's struggling before another body entered the destruction zone.

Sasuke looked almost just like how he did before his second attempt at killing her. To some extent, it made Naru feel a little calmer. His eyes scanned the danger zone of the fighting teens and Deidara swiftly. He locked onto Itachi's position and instantly made his way over toward his brother and ex-best friend.

"You came," Itachi gruffly spoke after a small silence filled the air between the three.

"Hn." Sasuke whipped out his sword and slashed it at Itachi. Itachi pushed aside Naru just as he pulled out a kunai to block the attack. It slipped from his fingers but he didn't let that stop him as he brought his hands together to start on a jutsu.

Sasuke locked eyes with Naru, their black depths entrancing her for only a few seconds before his attention was grasped by Itachi's well aimed jutsu coming at him.

He flipped to the side, his fingers sliding into place to form a jutsu of his own.

The battles raged on; Naru had pulled herself upwards onto her knees into a sitting position. She watched their fight with hazy eyes. The two brothers had very nearly switched places, Sasuke standing beside the forgotten kunai and Itachi standing where Sasuke had been not too long ago.

The sound of a great explosion rocked the earth and breath escaped the captive. From all the dust littering the air and basins now covering the clearing came a torn Akatsuki cloak waving in the wind and blonde hair set firmly in place in a pony-tail on his head. Deidara was alive.

"Sasuke, the kunai – give me the kunai!" He gave her a scornful look, clearly telling her she must be crazy to think he would do that or he really thought she was pathetic. Naru couldn't tell which of the two it really was. "Please; if I die, they can't destroy Konoha or anyone else. That includes you, Sasuke. If they capture me and all the other Bijuus, it's over. So please…give me the kunai…" Ignoring the burning in her eyes, Naru reached her tied hands outwards in Sasuke's direction.

There was the slightest hesitation before he reached down and swiftly threw the kunai over to her. Sasuke immediately turned away from the blonde Jinchuuriki, facing the imminent battle between him, Itachi and Deidara's arriving form.

The kunai fell before her feet, glistening from the falling sun slightly at its sharp edge. And, even as Naru reached down and tenderly plucked it from the grass in front of her, she had no regret. Holding it between her two tied hands, the handle sandwiched between her wrists, she took a profound breath before plunging it deep into her chest.

There was pain for the slightest moment, shorter than a second and it was over. Things began to fade from her vision, the black around the edges slowly dancing closer together. A defeated cry of despair filled the air, but it did not come from the blonde laying upon the grass, gradually bleeding her life's blood. No, it came from the only other blonde in the area. Deidara's shout of pain and anger was enough to Naru; she knew there was no hope left for the Akatsuki. They could get all the Bijuus, all but hers, but they'd never be able to create the Juubi.

The pain no longer hindered her nor did she feel it. A content sigh escaped her parched lips, her eyelids slowly slipping shut in her impending repose. The last thing she heard was the terrified, furious voice of the Kyuubi. Letting that sink in, she knew it was over. And so she closed her eyes, closed them from the world forever, closed them from the pain of the loss of her friends, she closed them from her captors and best friend. And they stayed shut, never to open again.

**Okay…so you're probably mad at me. This ending is probably not what you thought it would be and the update was so late and there was little to no romance. I wanted it to be really light, almost hard to see. So I'm kind of happy how it came out despite how hard the ending was to write. I hope it doesn't sound forced; I did force this chapter out but I tried to not make it seem like that.**_** Anyway, thanks to all you subscribers, all of you who favorited this story and all the reviewers. Thanks for being so patient and understanding. I hope you enjoyed this despite how small and this was!**_


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